Guest of Honour Award Ivoire literature in French organized by the association Akwaba Culture, Boubacar Boris Diop, a Senegalese writer speaks of literature the continent. Afro-optimist, he gives his perspective on what takes place on the continent in literary terms and specify the battle to be fought for Africa.
You are now in Ivory Coast as part of the ceremony for literary award French-speaking. What is the usefulness of such a prize for Africa?
Everyone has dreamed Akwaba and culture has produced. From the moment she stands in Côte d'Ivoire, the African land, it belongs to the whole continent. We are all proud to be invited to this third edition. Three editions, this means that the price is still very young. So there are many obstacles that will continue to stand in the way, but should be anticipated. Do not say it is a price to restrict the African part of Africa. Even case of the French language, do not forget North Africa. We have this annoying tendency to forget our brothers in the northern part of the continent. As I see it happen, I am particularly optimistic.
Do you think it is appropriate to have such a price in Africa and what may be its scope globally?
Ah yes. As I said, everyone has dreamed of and this is achieved in Côte d'Ivoire, a country which also reaffirms its mission of space for creativity. There are many new things that come from that country. But it is up to the media, the sponsors, organizers, publishers, booksellers and the general public to get started so that the price is necessary. All prices we are talking about today, including the biggest of them the Nobel Prize for literature, when this has started, it was not as big as that.
Do you think everything has been done to sustain this price?
I usually travel, after all, I think so.
Among the authors selected, which ones do you enjoy?
There are two authors I know, shortlisted. One is Senegalese, Nafissatou Dia Diouf, who has many talents. I'm glad the jury is selected. And a very good friend of mine, a great name in literature Ivorian Veronica Tadjo. But I do not know who will be the winner.
What goal are you looking through the writing of a book?
I am originally novelist. When is a novelist, initially, the idea is to say, it was once. And continue. That is to say, we wants to tell a story. He passed this and pass it. It ended well or badly. Gradually, of course, we arrive at what we are looking. Because a writing career must be understood in its evolution. Because, as and when the public pulls us. He said, is to tell you stories,''he once was.'' But what do you say what is happening around you: injustice, corruption, poverty, the various political problems that Africa has its share but it has no exclusivity. Well, we start talking about it. Once it gets started, as you put your finger, the whole hand that hand, then the whole body and then we end up with the label and the habit of a writer engaged. But initially it's very innocent.
What should today's engagement in Africa do you think?
engagement in Africa is that Africa is a part of the world like the others. My struggle, contrary to what we are trying to make us believe that Africa's problems are not simple, they are very complexity, is to understand that Africa has no monopoly of evil. So, I'm against Afro-pessimism that is to say Africa is fucked always and forever. But at the same time, I refuse the trap of saying, oh Africa is wonderful. To think that we were there under our palaver tree, sipping our wine palm and tell our stories, when the others came we beat them, we divide, we dispose of, etc..
You said two things at once?
What I'm saying is Africa beyond good and evil. One Africa, normal part of the world where there are as well as evil. Where political phenomena are related to mechanisms readable, we can analyze, understand. Basically, the important thing is decomplex Africans. They stop looking for their belly button is it disgust or praise him. Today, no head of state in the world kills as many as a journalist in the world as Vladimir Putin, and yet we do not say that Europe, which belongs Putin is a continent where you spend the time to murder journalists. No head of state in the world behaves in a manner so unworthy that Berlusconi has relations with minors and who brags. If it was an African leader who had, he would have been criticized. I call for a lucid, thoughtful, reasoned the continent's problems. Countries must be judged by performance and not put everyone into the same bag.
The act of writing in African languages as you do today in Wolof, he bears fruit in your opinion?
Yes, it works much better than previously believed. We are in an economy the book. Books published in Wolof flow more quickly than those published in French. The reason is that in Senegal, publications in languages that are read in the countryside. The newspapers do not. The first difficulty is that when I write in French, I can be read by everyone, but for the short term. The normal process in all the literatures of the world is to write in their language and then translate. We must have this in mind. We can not say that because the language is spoken only in the country, we can not write in language. You know, the only Greek is spoken in Greece, however, the writers of this country write in Greek. And you can be''strangled''if you ask a Greek author writing in another language. It is the same for Italy and many other countries.
What can you price the book?
In a country where Smig is around 40,000 CFA francs, it is difficult to buy a book which costs 20,000 CFA francs. Beyond price, the value added of African works which are published in Europe is a loss for African economies. That is to say that these publications are live Thousands of people on this continent to the detriment of Africans.
What are your views on the new generation of writers?
You know, there is a correlation between the state's school system, language proficiency and mastery of the literature. But the school system is collapsing everywhere. It still has an impact on the work of academics. The level of writing is very low. The real issue is not that of literature itself but rather the education of languages that serve as a fulcrum to literature. It really is at its lowest level and it shows in production.
What suggestions do you overcome that?
We only make findings and that is what we write.
Interview by Amadou Sanou / 07681172
You are now in Ivory Coast as part of the ceremony for literary award French-speaking. What is the usefulness of such a prize for Africa?
Everyone has dreamed Akwaba and culture has produced. From the moment she stands in Côte d'Ivoire, the African land, it belongs to the whole continent. We are all proud to be invited to this third edition. Three editions, this means that the price is still very young. So there are many obstacles that will continue to stand in the way, but should be anticipated. Do not say it is a price to restrict the African part of Africa. Even case of the French language, do not forget North Africa. We have this annoying tendency to forget our brothers in the northern part of the continent. As I see it happen, I am particularly optimistic.
Do you think it is appropriate to have such a price in Africa and what may be its scope globally?
Ah yes. As I said, everyone has dreamed of and this is achieved in Côte d'Ivoire, a country which also reaffirms its mission of space for creativity. There are many new things that come from that country. But it is up to the media, the sponsors, organizers, publishers, booksellers and the general public to get started so that the price is necessary. All prices we are talking about today, including the biggest of them the Nobel Prize for literature, when this has started, it was not as big as that.
Do you think everything has been done to sustain this price?
I usually travel, after all, I think so.
Among the authors selected, which ones do you enjoy?
There are two authors I know, shortlisted. One is Senegalese, Nafissatou Dia Diouf, who has many talents. I'm glad the jury is selected. And a very good friend of mine, a great name in literature Ivorian Veronica Tadjo. But I do not know who will be the winner.
What goal are you looking through the writing of a book?
I am originally novelist. When is a novelist, initially, the idea is to say, it was once. And continue. That is to say, we wants to tell a story. He passed this and pass it. It ended well or badly. Gradually, of course, we arrive at what we are looking. Because a writing career must be understood in its evolution. Because, as and when the public pulls us. He said, is to tell you stories,''he once was.'' But what do you say what is happening around you: injustice, corruption, poverty, the various political problems that Africa has its share but it has no exclusivity. Well, we start talking about it. Once it gets started, as you put your finger, the whole hand that hand, then the whole body and then we end up with the label and the habit of a writer engaged. But initially it's very innocent.
What should today's engagement in Africa do you think?
engagement in Africa is that Africa is a part of the world like the others. My struggle, contrary to what we are trying to make us believe that Africa's problems are not simple, they are very complexity, is to understand that Africa has no monopoly of evil. So, I'm against Afro-pessimism that is to say Africa is fucked always and forever. But at the same time, I refuse the trap of saying, oh Africa is wonderful. To think that we were there under our palaver tree, sipping our wine palm and tell our stories, when the others came we beat them, we divide, we dispose of, etc..
You said two things at once?
What I'm saying is Africa beyond good and evil. One Africa, normal part of the world where there are as well as evil. Where political phenomena are related to mechanisms readable, we can analyze, understand. Basically, the important thing is decomplex Africans. They stop looking for their belly button is it disgust or praise him. Today, no head of state in the world kills as many as a journalist in the world as Vladimir Putin, and yet we do not say that Europe, which belongs Putin is a continent where you spend the time to murder journalists. No head of state in the world behaves in a manner so unworthy that Berlusconi has relations with minors and who brags. If it was an African leader who had, he would have been criticized. I call for a lucid, thoughtful, reasoned the continent's problems. Countries must be judged by performance and not put everyone into the same bag.
The act of writing in African languages as you do today in Wolof, he bears fruit in your opinion?
Yes, it works much better than previously believed. We are in an economy the book. Books published in Wolof flow more quickly than those published in French. The reason is that in Senegal, publications in languages that are read in the countryside. The newspapers do not. The first difficulty is that when I write in French, I can be read by everyone, but for the short term. The normal process in all the literatures of the world is to write in their language and then translate. We must have this in mind. We can not say that because the language is spoken only in the country, we can not write in language. You know, the only Greek is spoken in Greece, however, the writers of this country write in Greek. And you can be''strangled''if you ask a Greek author writing in another language. It is the same for Italy and many other countries.
What can you price the book?
In a country where Smig is around 40,000 CFA francs, it is difficult to buy a book which costs 20,000 CFA francs. Beyond price, the value added of African works which are published in Europe is a loss for African economies. That is to say that these publications are live Thousands of people on this continent to the detriment of Africans.
What are your views on the new generation of writers?
You know, there is a correlation between the state's school system, language proficiency and mastery of the literature. But the school system is collapsing everywhere. It still has an impact on the work of academics. The level of writing is very low. The real issue is not that of literature itself but rather the education of languages that serve as a fulcrum to literature. It really is at its lowest level and it shows in production.
What suggestions do you overcome that?
We only make findings and that is what we write.
Interview by Amadou Sanou / 07681172
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